Dayhunter (32 page)

I had hoped to slip out of the suite without being stopped, but Danaus was sitting in the living room drinking coffee. The remains of his dinner rested on a trolley brought up by room service. A ghost of a smile floated across my lips as I looked at the hunter settled comfortably on the sofa. It always amused me when I saw him doing such mundane things like eating or enjoying the warmth of a good cup of coffee. It kept my mind struggling to grasp hold of him, as he constantly shifted between ruthless killer and human in my thoughts.

He was dressed in a dark navy linen shirt with short sleeves that revealed his deeply tanned, muscled arms. His shoulder-length locks were pulled back, letting my eyes caress his strong features. The day’s growth of dark stubble had been removed from his chin, but it did nothing to lessen the shadows that clung to the hollows of his cheeks. Danaus looked like a wealthy Italian gentlemen on holiday, but there was a seriousness, a dark shadow in his sapphire eyes, that no amount of expensive clothes could hide.

Had circumstances been different, I would have been content to spend the night staring at him, slowly memorizing his features. I would have happily passed the night curled in a chair, arguing philosophy, mythology, and our place in the universe with him.

“You’re awake early,” he said, setting his cup on the table before him. He rose from the sofa, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets. A knife was once again attached to his waist, and he was wearing a hard leather wrist guard on his right arm. The weaponry and guard were at odds with his clothes, reminding me that there was no escaping what he was—a hunter.

“Another meeting, I believe,” I said. I was dead inside after all that had happened during the past several nights. Walking over to the wall of windows, I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms loosely over my stomach.

“Like last night’s?”

“No.”

“Alone?”

I stared out the wall of windows, admiring the pallet of colors washing across the sky. Since becoming a nightwalker, my skies had been limited to inky black and sickly shades of gray. Yet, while in Venice, I had been given two chances to add some color to my skies. Tonight, the sky was bathed in deep reds and oranges as the sun sank deeper beneath the horizon. “No,” I said, a surprised smile dawning on my face. Danaus knew almost as much as I did at this point. Why should I try to hide this? He was also part of the triad. If Macaire wanted to talk to me about the naturi, then he would have to tell Danaus as well.

“We have to leave tonight,” Danaus reminded me. I knew that. The new moon was in two nights. It was also Lughnassadh, the pagan preharvest festival. Ancient lore said the celebration was in honor of the god Lugh’s wedding to Mother Earth. While I can’t say that I put much stock in the old pagan tales, it would have been rather fitting if the naturi managed to break the seal on that night, erasing the one thing blocking the union of the two worlds.

“Do you know where the next sacrifice will be?” I asked, turning to look at him.

He shook his head, a grim smile lifting the corners of his mouth. “I was going to ask you the same question.”

“Great,” I muttered, walking over and plopping down in one of the chairs next to the sofa. “We’re out of time.”

“We should never have come here. We should have been looking for the next location, or at least trying to hunt down Rowe,” Danaus growled, but to my surprise, he seemed as frustrated with himself as he was with me.

“I don’t remember us having a lot of choice in the matter,” I said, fixing my dark gaze on the hunter. “Or at least, I didn’t. Jabari wanted me here. I wouldn’t have been able to fight him. I’m a puppet, remember?”

Danaus sat down on the sofa again, leaning forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees. He stared off into space, lost in his own thoughts. Unfortunately, this arguing wasn’t getting us anywhere.

“The naturi can’t do anything for another two nights,” I said with a sigh. “If we hadn’t come here, we would have been jumping from place to place, chasing anything that looked suspicious. That would have been a waste of our time and extremely dangerous. Rowe could have attacked at any time during the day. At least here we were protected.”

That comment finally made Danaus’s head snap up, a frown pulling at his mouth. In this case, “protected” simply meant that we were safe from the naturi because this area was controlled by nightwalkers. And apparently because the Coven had struck up some kind of bargain with the naturi.

“Look at it this way, if we hadn’t come, Tristan and Nicolai would most likely be dead. We wouldn’t know the Coven has cooked up some scheme with the naturi, and we wouldn’t know that Rowe is unaware of the alliance. Once we know what the Coven is planning, it will be easier to stop them,” I argued.

“But that still leaves us with one very large problem,” Danaus countered. The hunter picked up his coffee cup again and drank the last of its contents.

Pulling myself up using the arms of the chair, I sat up straight. “I think we have more than that, but which one are you referring to?”

“Where is the next sacrifice?”

“We should know tonight. I think Macaire will tell us,” I said, causing Danaus’s features to twist in confusion.

“And why do you think he will do that?”

“Call it a hunch.” I shrugged my shoulders at the hunter as I smiled at him. “Have you talked to Ryan recently? Are your people looking as well?”

The warlock was the head of Themis, a research group that had spent centuries watching nightwalkers, lycanthropes, and any other creepy-crawly creatures the rest of the human race wasn’t aware of. Their numbers were large enough that they could watch all twelve of the so-called holy sites and report back any kind of activity. And the one major advantage they had over nightwalkers was that they could keep an eye on things during the daylight hours. While I fully expected Macaire to tell us the site of the next sacrifice, I wanted Ryan to confirm the information for me. Macaire would tell us the location; I just wanted to be sure it was the real location.

“Ryan is looking into it,” Danaus replied. “No word yet on the location.”

“Gabriel is contacting Charlotte. She’ll arrange for the flight out tonight,” I said, pushing back to my feet. Forcing a smile onto my lips, I motioned with my head toward the door. “Ready?”

The hunter’s muscular body was almost humming with energy as we headed down to the main landing. Pausing near the canal, I willed my body to relax, pushing the tension from my arms and down my legs until it flowed out of my toes. A light summer breeze stirred, dancing down the canals and threading its way between the buildings. Street lamps were popping on and the glow from Piazza San Marco was starting to swell.

“How do you like your rooms?” inquired a gentle voice from behind me in strangely accented English. I jerked around, stunned to find Macaire seated on a bench just a few feet from us. I hadn’t felt him there a moment ago, hadn’t even sensed his approach, but I guess that’s what made him an Elder.

Danaus instinctively reached for his knife, but I gently laid my hand on his wrist, halting his movement. Macaire had done nothing yet to threaten us. I was willing to play it cool for now. No reason to start a fight. There would be plenty of time for that later.

“They’re stunning, particularly the large wall of windows facing the east,” I answered. His face split into a wide, almost malicious grin. “When did the Coven acquire the Cipriani?”

“A few years ago,” he said, pushing to his feet and walking over to us. His English was perfect, but the accent was strange. I knew he wasn’t as old as Jabari, making me doubt that his people were a dead civilization. Slavic, Eastern European, or maybe Russian? But even that seemed wrong.

Macaire wore a pale, mint green button-up shirt that contrasted nicely with his deep brown eyes. His white linen pants and supple brown loafers made him look so damn approachable and pleasant. He should have looked more predatory; something to indicate to the world that he was one of the most powerful nightwalkers on the planet.

When he was standing beside me, he offered his arm. With a great deal of effort, I managed to keep my face expressionless as I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm while I let my other hand drop from Danaus’s wrist.

“The hall was receiving too many visitors, making sleeping arrangements uncomfortable,” he continued, pleased to see that I was willing to play along. His eyes for a brief moment skimmed over Danaus as if weighing some thought. “We thought it wise if we started keeping some of our guests off the island.”

“It’s beautiful. I’ve always liked the quiet of Guidecca,” I said, strolling down the street next to him. In the eyes of the world, we were a trio of tourists on an evening walk along the narrow street of the island, not enemies trying to find a way to accomplish our individual goals without dying in the process.

“How is Tristan?” Macaire abruptly asked as we crossed a small bridge, heading deeper into the island of Guidecca.

“I imagine he is faring much better than Sadira.” I couldn’t quite stop the smile that rose to my pale lips. Her screams echoed through my memory for a brief moment, loud enough that I felt muscles twitch in Macaire’s arm. I figured he was listening to some of my thoughts.

“Yes, I fear she’ll be in pain for quite some time,” he said, his voice hardening. “Not exactly a wise choice, considering that she must be strong to help you with the naturi.”

“Nor was her choice of enemies wise,” Danaus darkly interjected.

I was pleased with the hunter’s comments, but I didn’t want to worry about trying to separate the Elder and Danaus while I was still trying to get information. “Are you concerned?” I asked quickly, arching one brow as I looked down at him.

Macaire paused and turned his body so he was facing me. He laid one of his hands over my hand, which was lightly resting on his arm. “Of course I am.”

“I had my doubts,” I said with a frown. “Considering your new business partner, I was under the impression that maybe the Coven no longer wanted to keep the door closed.”

“Ahhh,” Macaire said, resuming our walk through the neighborhood. “You misunderstand, my young one.” His condescending tone made my teeth clench, but for now I knew it had to be tolerated.

“I can’t imagine why.” Hidden by the material of my dress, my free hand clenched into a fist at my side. “What is going on, Macaire? What has the Coven done?”

“We’ve struck a rather unique bargain.”

“Has the Coven decided to destroy us all?”

Macaire stopped walking again. He reached up and placed his hands on both of my cheeks, his eyes softening to a look of sweet concern. The nightwalker looked older than many of the others. It appeared that he was in his late forties to early fifties when he was reborn. His dark brown hair was sprinkled liberally with gray, giving him a wise and distinguished look. There was a cleft in his chin and deep lines around his mouth and eyes. It was strange. He looked like he was almost twice as old as Jabari, but the Egyptian was the older of the two.

“What we have done is for the protection of our kind,” he reassured me. His eyes pointedly moved from my face to stare at Danaus, who stood behind my right shoulder. “What have you done for the protection of our kind?”

I stepped backward out of his touch, my brows bunching angrily over the bridge of my nose. “I’m not a fool. You can’t make deals with the naturi and expect them to live up to the agreement.”

“Some would say the same about you,” he ruefully stated, looking from Danaus to me again.

“Enough! What is going on?”

Smiling, Macaire lifted his arm, patiently waiting for me to place my hand back in the crook of his elbow. He liked the farce, and I knew he would say nothing until I complied with his wishes. Nearly growling in my frustration, I placed my hand back on his arm and we continued our walk.

“Several decades ago, the Coven was quietly approached by a handful of naturi,” he began, sounding as if he was retelling a tale of misadventure at the office. “They told us of their queen’s plans to open the door between our worlds. It seems that they had become content with the way things had gone since becoming separated from the rest of the host. They had no desire to fall back under the thumb of their illustrious ruler. This small group came to us requesting that we not only close the door, but that we also kill Aurora.”

My legs stopped working as I listened to these words, as if the very idea had locked up my brain. I stood planted to the spot, blindly staring ahead at the large plaza we had entered. “Kill Aurora,” I repeated dumbly.

“They wish to return to the peaceful existence they had found. Aurora will not allow that. She will continue with her plans for wiping out both humans and nightwalkers.”

“I don’t believe it.” I shook my head, as if trying to clear the clutter of questions that had crowded in my brain. Macaire tried to continue walking, but I wouldn’t move.

“You do not have to,” he said patiently. “The Elders do.”

“To kill Aurora, she has to come through the door, which means we have to allow them to open the door,” Danaus reminded him. “It would be safer to stop them before they open it. It may be centuries before she has another chance to open the door again.”

“We considered that, and there is one problem…” Macaire paused, moving his gaze from Danaus to my face. “You.”

I lurched backward a step, putting a little distance between us. The sidewalk seemed to have narrowed, leaving me feeling trapped between Danaus and Macaire. This conversation had taken a strange, unexpected turn. “What do you mean?”

“You are needed to shut the door and form the seal. We also believe you are our best chance at destroying Aurora,” he said. “Unfortunately, considering your reckless lifestyle and your unexpected alliance, the Coven doesn’t feel confident that you will survive long enough to stop Aurora if she tries again a couple centuries from now.”

“Best chance—don’t you mean best weapon?” I snapped irritably.

“Yes,” he said in a slow hiss. “You are an exquisite weapon, whether you act alone or are being wielded by another. The Coven thinks this is our best chance to stop Aurora once and for all. To finish it. And we’re not sure we’ll have another chance like this one.”